Clean & Press is an incredible exercise.
Clean & press is a great, full body exercise that I would use if I only could do 1 vertical push pattern. But, really, the clean & press is so much more than just a vertical push. The clean, itself, actually checks 2 boxes — (1) hinge. (2) Pull. The clean is also a ballistic hinge + pull. That means it's explosive.
Then you get to the press portion, which is a vertical pressing grind.
This is exciting stuff, people. What we have here is a ballistic + a grind as 1 exercise, which is fun way to train strength, power, conditioning, and hypertrophy all at once.
As for muscles worked – buckle up, partner – the clean & press trains the quads, glutes, hamstrings, back (lats and traps) rear delt, side delt front delt, upper chest, and triceps. Holy smokes! Talk about high value.
Clean & press is my choice if I could only do 1 exercise for upper body push because it's fun, trains multiple qualities, and targets an insane amount of musculature.
Also, since it's 2 exercises combined into 1, it encourages a greater degree of time under tension than most exercises.
